


Age of Consent

by crabapplered



Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: Bukkake, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-05
Updated: 2011-12-05
Packaged: 2017-10-26 23:15:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/288962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crabapplered/pseuds/crabapplered
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mieu gets Luke pregnant - that's how it all starts, with a funny misunderstanding that should have been easy to clear up. But a few ill chosen words result in an ugly little secret being revealed, and before the end things have snowballed into a complicated situation without a clear solution.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Age of Consent

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of those fics that start with KC and I giggling over a really funny, cute little idea, and then carrying the scenario further and realizing that it leads to something really fucked up in the end. Naturally I had to write it.

"The lady selling armour has a really big tummy now!" says Mieu. "How come she got so fat so quickly?"

"I think she's pregnant," Luke answers distractedly as he yanks off his shoes, then socks. He sighs happily and wiggles his toes in the inn room's carpet. The Albiore means they don't have to walk everywhere, but they spent the day resupplying in Chesedonia, and having to haul groceries and othersuch to the plane has made Luke sore and sweaty. He'll grab a real bath before going to bed, but for now he'll settle for getting his clothing off and sponging down with the pitcher of water on the night stand.

"What's that mean, Master?"

"It means she's got a baby in her tummy." His coat follows after. Noble dignity and wrinkles be damned - he tosses it in the corner, smug in the knowledge that he's got his own room for the night and so will be free from Jade's barbs about spoiled children and their messes.

Mieu bounces beside him on the bed. "You mean her tummy is full of eggs? Shouldn't she lay them soon?"

"Humans don't come from eggs, Mieu."

"Really? Then how does it work?"

"I- uh." That makes Luke pause in pulling off his black t-shirt. "Come to think of it, I'm not sure. Guy was supposed to teach me about it but he never got around to it because he got sick. He was having these weird fits; kept turning red and passing out each time he started talking about it."

Mieu blinks his big, dark eyes up at Luke and cocks his head. "You mean you don't know anything?"

Luke flinches at the sting of shame as his ignorance is underlined. "Hey, shut up! I do so know something about it! My tutors gave me all sorts of lectures on the subject, and so did Father. You have to- you have to be indiscreet with a girl." He tosses his shirt after his coat and begins to unbuckle his belt.

"Indiscreet?" Mieu says the word slowly, testing it out. "What does that mean?"

"It means to get naked together and, uh. Do stuff." Yeah, that sounds about right. It's what the maids were always hinting and giggling over, anyways, and what other reason is there for girls to hate boys seeing them naked? It's not like it's anything special otherwise.

"Oh! Like we are right now!" Mieu exclaims.

Luke freezes, pants and underthings around his ankles. "What? No!" He lashes a hand out to grind his knuckles into Mieu's head. "Don't say weird things! Besides, we're both boys! Being indiscreet is something only a boy and a girl can do!"

"Ow ow ow! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Luke kicks the last of his clothing away, but his mood is dark and pensive now. There's just so much he doesn't know. Should he really know all this already? Is it his fault for not asking? Do humans - real humans, and not replicas- know all this without having to be told? He sits down on the bed and sighs. Glances at Mieu. ". . . so how do cheagles do it?"

"Well, the Elder didn't say anything about a boy and a girl. But I do know we have to do the Courtship Dance!"

Luke raises an eyebrow. "The Courtship Dance? Sounds dumb."

"No, no! It's really important!" Mieu insists, jumping up and down and wiggling his ears for emphasis. "It's to express your true feelings!"

Luke crosses his arms. "So what's it look like, then?"

Mieu has to think about that. "I'm not really sure. I'm just a child so I haven't been taught yet. But . . . maybe it looks like this?" Mieu starts wiggling on the bed covers, little legs stepping time, arms waving, ears waving, hips swaying from side to side.

Luke smirks. "No way."

"No, no, I think I've got it," Mieu insists. He lets out a little gout of flame and does a somersault, then clutches his head and flaps his ears. "See? I'm expressing my feeling for you, Master: Fire! Fire! I'm sorry! Wings!"

"Hey!"

"And then you finish with a big kiss! I love you, Master!" Mieu crows, and bounces up to plant a kiss right on Luke's lips.

Luke freezes.

Mieu, having landed on the bed, freezes.

They stare at each other with wide, horrified eyes.

". . . oops," says Mieu.

"Oops?!" Luke shrieks. "How can you- no, wait. Never mind." He laughs shakily. "You don't even know how to do it right! You're a kid! And it's just for cheagles, anyways."

"But Master," Mieu says in a quavery voice. "I'm wearing the Sorcerer's Ring. It lets me do all kinds of adult stuff."

Luke twitches. "Mieu. . . "

". . . and you're a replica, not a human," Mieu continues mercilessly. "What if it _does_ work for you?"

Luke starts to twitch. Then his hands clench. His teeth grind.

Mieu scuttles under the bed.

_"YOU STUPID THING! I'M GONNA ROAST YOU AND EAT YOU, SEE IF I DON'T!"_

"I'm sorry, Master! I promise I'll support you and our child!

~

Breakfast the next morning is almost normal as the group sits around the inn's table and pass platters of crepes and fruit, vinegar rice and grilled meat.

"We'll have try searching for that odd landmass Grandfather mentioned," Tear is saying. "Please pass the fruit."

"Can't we stop in Ketterburg first? They've got a beautiful mythril circlet that's just perfect for me!"

"You were supposed to finish shopping for supplies yesterday, Anise," Jade chides her.

"Boo~~! It's not my fault Chesedonia doesn't have the right stuff! And anyways, it's not like it'll take long in the Albiore, right, so please can we go? Pleeeease?"

Natalia loads her crepe down with banana and strawberries. "Honestly, Anise. You just want to visit the Casino again."

"What? No! It's not like that! Honest!"

"If we're still running errands, Noel wanted us to stop by Sheridan to get the Albiore tuned up. Luke, pass me the juice, would you? . . . Luke? Luke, are you okay? You don't look so hot." Guy leans closer to peer into Luke's face. "Actually, you look like some kind of zombie. What's wrong, didn't you get any sleep last night?"

Luke stares back at him with blank, glassy eyes. The dark circles underneath, far too evident on his sickly-pale skin, make his eyes look like muted jade instead of their usual bright emerald, and even his scarlet hair seems faded and tired.

". . . Luke?" Guy tries again.

The others are finally taking notice, trading worried looks between themselves.

"Is he sick?" Anise asks.

"I dunno, he won't answer. Luke, c'mon. Snap out of it." Guy gives him a light shake.

"Maybe Mieu knows what's wrong," says Tear. "Mieu? Did something happen last night?"

Mieu flinches. Looks up from the mushroom he'd been trying to hide behind all morning, his eyes dark and glittering with unshed tears.

"Oh my gosh, Mieu!" Tear gasps, reaching for him. "What's wrong?! Tell us!"

"I. . . last night, I . . ."

Luke whimpers.

"Last night I got Master _pregnant_!" Mieu howls, bursting into tears.

Luke gives a single sob and falls right out of Guy's numbed grip, tumbling face down into his plate of rice. He'd have probably smothered there, too, limp in his despair, if Guy hadn't managed to snap out of his shock and haul him back upright.

Tear, Natalia, Anise, even Guy, they don't know what to say. It falls to Jade to fill the silence, and all he can come up with is: ". . . how unexpected."

Mieu is still bawling and Luke is a limp noodle in Guy's grip and the other inn patrons are starting to stare, so the group makes a hurried retreat back upstairs to Guy's room, Jade pausing just long enough to slip the innkeeper some money to look the other way if they stay a bit longer.

They settle Luke on the bed with Guy beside him, still trying to get Luke to show some sign of life. Tear sits in the room's armchair with Mieu in her lap and strokes his ears in soothing motions. Natalia and Anise take the other two chairs, and Jade leans casually against the windowsill.

"Mieu, we need you to calm down and explain," Tear says.

Natalia crosses her arms and casts a worried glance at Luke. "We certainly do. How on earth could you two have come to such a bizarre idea?"

It takes time, but by bit they coax the story out of Meiu between his tears, and when he comes to the end the lot of them find themselves hard pressed to keep from laughing.

"Good grief, is that it?" Natalia says, heaving a sigh of relief.

"I have to say I'm relieved as well," says Jade. "The things that came to mind- no, I don't think I want to dwell on them."

"I can't believe you two managed to get so worked up over something like that," Tear sighs, shaking her head. "Especially Luke! Isn't he engaged to you, Natalia? I thought nobles made sure to teach their children about this sort of thing."

They all look over at Luke, just now coming around under Guy's soothing care, his face the brilliant red of shame, of embarrassment. Guy looks up at them and smiles sheepishly. "It, uh. Might actually be my fault. See, I was the one who was supposed to teach him-"

"But that's stupid!" Anise blurts out. "He's a _boy_! Everyone knows boys figure it out by themselves! You know~!" she jerks her clenched fist in front of her, and Guy turns as scarlet as Luke.

"Anise!"

She continues, "Luke, how could you be so dumb?! Ugh! I can't believe I wanted to marry someone so ignorant!"

"Anise, that's enough!" Jade snaps, but the damage is done. Luke is bristling on the bed, face still scarlet, but there's anger in his eyes now, too.

"Shut up! It's not like I'm totally clueless, okay? I know some stuff! Just. . . not all of it."

"What exactly . . . _do_ you know, Luke?" Natalia asks. She's got a strange, strained expression on her face.

That makes him falter a bit. "W-well. I know it takes a boy and a girl and you, uh. You have to. You know. Be indiscreet together."

". . . Luke, do you even know what 'indiscreet' means?" Tear ventures.

"It- it means getting naked together and. . . doing stuff." He shifts uncomfortably on the bed, and it couldn't be more obvious from his slumped shoulders, his fidgeting hands that he's got no idea just what that 'stuff' is.

Guy is about to call a halt to this. Luke is clearly uncomfortable and this is really something best explained in private, but before he can Anise blurts out one last, dreadful thing:

"I can't believe there's a boy who doesn't know what his penis is for."

And Luke perks right up at that. "My penis? What's that got to do with anything?"

It's not just the question. It's the completely blank look and the clear, innocent tone of voice that reveals such incredible ignorance that Guy finds himself silenced by shock. He knows Luke's age is a bit weird considering he's a replica, but his body is that of a teenage boy so Guy always assumed. . . it's not like he handles Luke's laundry, and he suddenly realizes that he's got no clue if Luke's even ever had wet dreams.

Anise splutters and tears at her hair. "It's for _sex_ , you dope! You know how when you rub it and it feels good, white stuff comes out? You put that in a girl and it makes a baby!"

"What? No way!" Luke protests, shrugging out of Guy's hold and surging angrily to his feet. "Now I _know_ you're making fun of me. Making a baby is something only a boy and a girl can do, so that can't have anything to do with it because Master Van and I did that loads of times."

The silence that follows that declaration is absolute.

Luke stands in the middle of the room, still flushed and angry, and everyone else just stares at him. Stares and stares, all of them trying desperately to grapple with what they've just heard. This isn't the outlandish nonsense of a cheagle-human pregnancy. This is- this is-

And Luke's anger slowly fades, replaced by confusion, then by fear as he takes in their faces. "What? What's wrong?"

"Luke," Guy says in a voice that's too quiet, too even. "When did you and Van do that?"

Luke turns to look at him and frowns. He doesn't like how pale Guy suddenly seems. Doesn't like how dark Guy's eyes are, or the thin, narrow set of his mouth. "Oh, um. All the time. Usually after training, to relax. We did it in my room so we didn't bother anyone. Why?"

Guy closes his eyes. Breaths deep once, twice. "All the time."

"Yeah. He showed me how . . . five years ago? I think it was a couple months into my training." Luke cocks his head. "Yeah, I was twelve. Well, two, I guess, since I'm a replica." He hesitates. "Guy? You- you look kinda sick."

"I think I'm going to be," Guy mumbles.

" _Excuse me!_ " Tear blurts, and dashes out the door, heedless for once of Mieu who tumbles to the ground with a squeak.

Luke doesn't notice, too focused on Guy, on Guy's crumpled expression, his slumped shoulders. "Guy, c'mon, tell me what's wrong! You're freaking me out, acting like this. It's not like Master Van hurt me."

Guy's answering laughter is a broken cascade. "Yes he did, Luke. He hurt you, and I should have stopped him. I was in charge of you, I was your guardian. . . I should have known, I should have _noticed_ , but I- I was probably too busy being angry. I-"

"I'll go make sure Tear's alright," Natalia says quietly. "Please come with me, Anise." The two of them exit quietly, leaving the drama to continue without them.

"Knock it off," Luke snaps. "You're acting like you did something wrong! Like- like Master Van did something wrong," he continues, looking away and clenching his fists. And quietly: ". . . like I did something wrong."

"Wrong? Wrong?! Luke, what he did- touching you like that- showing you- you were a _kid_! It- he- It's _disgusting_!" Guy snarls. "It's the most awful thing I've ever heard of."

Luke jerks as if slapped, his face going ashen except for scarlet spots of rage high on his cheeks. "Don't talk about it like that."

"He's a _monster,_ " rages Guy. "And what he did with you was completely unaccept-Guh!"

Guy lays on the bed, stunned from the blow and from shock, blood flowing from his nose. Luke's punched him. Luke's punched him, and as Guy raises his woozy head he can see Luke's green eyes are bright with tears and rage.

" _I said don't talk about it like that!_ "

"Luke."

It's Jade. Silent until now, arms still folded as he leans against the windowsill. His scarlet eyes are steady, calm despite the wash of high emotions swirling about him.

"Guy is expressing himself poorly. He is simply upset at what was done to you. That sort of thing-"

"I don't _care!_ " Luke howls. "You, and Guy, and anyone else can all just shut up! It felt good and it was fun and he- and he smiled at me and told me I did it really well-" Luke's voice wavers. "He said- he said I was a fast learner. That I was really smart for getting it right so fast. He said-" his voice gives out and so does his composure, the first hot tears streaming down his cheeks. "Why do you have to ruin everything about Master Van? Why can't you all just leave me alone?"

And then he spins, scrambling for the door and slamming it open and bolting out into the inn and down the stairs, and out into Chesedonia beyond.

"Master! Master, no, wait for me!" says Mieu. His ears flap desperately, but he's just too slow.

"Let him go, Mieu," Jade says quietly. "He needs some time alone." He glances at Guy, still splayed out on the bed and bleeding freely and caught in a storm of self-hate. Adjusts his glasses and sighs. "I think we all do."

~

Natalia and Anise find Tear in an alley beside the bar, tucked into the shadows and watching the children play along the border marker.

"Tear?" Natalia ventures as she comes close.

Tear barely reacts, her blue eyes flickering only briefly from the children to Natalia, her mouth twitching at the corners in a weak effort at a smile. Then her gaze darts back to the children, and Natalia winces to see Tear's lower lip quiver, Tear's arms come up to hug herself.

Natalia trades a worried look with Anise. They move into the shadows with Tear, Natalia moving to slip a comforting arm around Tear's waist, Anise to take her hand, but Tear pulls away, turns her back on them and buries her face in her hands. "I'm sorry. I don't much feel like company right now."

"Tear. Please don't do this to yourself," Natalia says. "We're here to help you."

"No! No, please. I- I can't. You'll think less of me."

Natalia frowns. "Tear?"

"I'm being so selfish," Tear murmurs.

Anise snorts and stomps her foot. "Ugh, is that all? Big deal! Everyone's selfish when they're upset. You'd have to be super-perfect not to be, and then you'd be totally boring and weird."

"Anise is correct," Natalia says firmly. "This isn't a battlefield, Tear. You needn't force yourself to stand alone or push yourself to be strong. Let us stand with you."

"It's just. . . Van raised me. Our parents died when I was a child, and Van was forced to take on their burden. He was always so kind to me. So strong and wise." Tear laces her fingers together, looks down into her palms filled to overflowing with the alley shadows. "When I found out how he intended to destroy the Outer Lands and I realized that he'd gotten these crazy ideas, I committed myself to stopping him, even if I had to kill him. But . . . but he was still my brother. In the end, his decisions were still ones I could see the brother I loved making. That's why it hurt so much."

"Tear. . . " whispers Anise.

"But now, I hear these things about him and I just don't know what to think! I don't even know what to feel. I know I should feel terrible for Luke, but all I can manage is being angry. Van is _dead_. Haven't we done enough to him? Why can't Luke just leave his memory alone instead of ruining it like this?!"

She turns away in a swirl of skirts and stalks down the alley, away from the light, away from the children, and away from her friends.

"And that's not even the worst of it," she says in a raw and shaking voice. "The worst of it is that I remember what Van said at the Absorption Gate, how he didn't even see Luke as a person, just a replica, a thing. And I can't help hoping that it's why he did those things, that Luke wasn't real to him so Van felt it didn't. . . felt it didn't count. I have to hope that," she continues in a voice so low they can barely hear. "I _have_ to. Because otherwise my brother. . . my brother isn't. . . all those years together, all those memories. . . they'll . . . all . . . change." The last word is a sob. Tear stands in the dark of the alley and begins to cry. Tear, who has always been so strong and so self contained, even when her brother's life was on the line.

_She's suffered so much with no-one to depend on but herself,_ Natalia thinks. _It's not right for someone to live their life like she has. It's not right for her to have even the memories of her brother taken from her._ She clenches her hands and sets her jaw. _I won't let this continue. I won't let the damage Van has done fester into something worse._

Natalia goes to Tear and takes her hands in her own. "Tear," she says, putting all the warmth she can into her voice, into her expression. "You love your brother. It's alright for you to feel this way. I don't in any ways think less of you for it, and I'm sure Anise doesn't either."

Anise shakes her head. "Nope. It's totally normal for you to be upset like this! I would be, too! The only person I'm upset at is the Commandant. He didn't just hurt Luke, you know. He hurt you, too."

More drops spill from Tear's eyes. "Anise. . . "

Natalia stares up at the sky, nothing but a narrow, searing strip of blue hanging over the alley, the Fon Belt glittering in a narrow swath across it. Timeless, eternal, unchanging, or so it seemed. But their travels had taught Natalia that things changed more than she had ever thought possible. "Luke has changed. We all know that. We've seen it, even though it seemed impossible at first. Perhaps Van changed over the years as well. Though he might have done terrible things, that doesn't erase the fact that he loved you. It doesn't make those memories a lie." She squeezes Tear's fingers gently. "So Tear, please don't throw away those memories of the past because of what Van has become in the present. Keep treasuring them."

"I. . . I will." And Tear manages a smile. Small and shaky, but real.

~

"It's broken. Give me a moment to set it and then you can have an apple gel. Unless you'd prefer to leave it crooked in some misguided form of penitence? That's up to you of course, but a crooked nose will make you snore, and I doubt Luke will appreciate it."

". . . .you don' pull any punch's do you," Guy says thickly. "Fin'. Se' i'."

He does nothing more than hiss at the sudden, sharp pain in his face. An apple gel takes care of the bleeding and the ache. He wipes at his face with his handkerchief, trying to get the last of the blood off.

Jade shrugs and puts his gloves back on. "I might not pull punches, but it seems Luke does. You're lucky he pulled his strength. If he hadn't you'd have more of your face broken than just your nose."

"I know." Guy snorts with rueful laughter, then grimaces and wipes at his nose and the last of the sticky blood that comes out. "It's the Albert style of fighting: one hand free to strike or grab your opponent. It's more versatile than my techniques, something Van always made a big deal about." He stares down at his bloody handkerchief. "Looks like Van was a good teacher, despite everything else."

"Being a pedophile doesn't bar one from competence," Jade says evenly.

"No. I guess not."

"Why is everyone is so upset and yelling and hitting each other? Did something bad happen?" Mieu asks in a small voice. He's slouched on chair Tear had sat in, his ears drooping, his dark eyes watery and sad.

Guy sighs heavily. "Yeah, Mieu. Something bad happened a long time ago to Luke. The problem is that he doesn't realize that it was a bad thing."

"I don't understand."

"It's complicated," says Guy. "All you need to understand is that Van was a bad guy, worse than a lot of us thought, but Luke doesn't want to believe it."

"Even after all the bad things Van did?" Mieu asks.

Jade folds his arms, eyes distant and unfocused. "Especially because of all the bad things Van did, Mieu. I think we forgot too easily that Van was the centre of Luke's world for most of his life, and what that might mean. Certainly _I_ never bothered to think about why he was so attached. I'm afraid that what we've discovered today is not a pleasant secret, and Luke is likely to be very upset over it once he realizes certain unpleasant truths."

"Oh no! I can't let Master be unhappy all by himself!" Mieu bounces up and down in frantic worry, and flaps his ears for emphasis. "I have to go to him!"

"That's not a bad idea. In such an emotional state I'm afraid Luke is likely to get himself into trouble if left to his own devices. Guy, will you come search with us?"

Guy shakes his head, still studying the mess of his handkerchief. "No. I'll stay here. I need to think about things for a while. About Van . . . and about my own responsibilities. Besides," he adds with half a smile, "I don't think I'm someone Luke wants to see right now. Not after what I said."

Jade nods. "Very well. Since you'll be staying here, see if you can get us rooms for the night again and let Noel know about the situation. I doubt we'll be going anywhere today."

"Yeah, I'll do that."

"Come along, Mieu. Let's go find Luke."

"Yes sir!"

~

Natalia and Anise have managed to draw Tear out of the alley and into the bar itself, pulling one of the round tables into the corner between the billboard and the counter and settling their chairs to form a wall between Tear and the rest of the world.

There Natalia manages to coax Tear into drinking - nothing particularly strong, but Natalia knows from watching her father manage touchy nobles that a gin and tonic goes a long way to soothing ruffled feathers, and so she charms Tear into having a glass.

Anise toys with her own drink, peach juice with heavy chunks of ice like glittering crystal. She tilts it back and forth to watch the light glow in pink threads through it, to hear it clink in sweet music. " . . . I know I should be thinking about what made the Commandant change, or if he hurt Arietta, or Ion, or anyone else. But all I can think of is Luke's parents. My papa . . . my papa's really gullible, but even he-!" She bites her lip. "When we had no money, before the Order took us in, we lived in some really bad places. And there were people there who tried to take me away, or to- to do things. But Papa and Mama never let them. They were always careful."

"You were very lucky to have such loving parents," Natalia remarks.

Anise slams a palm against the tabletop. "But that's just it! Luke's mama adores him, and his papa is a Duke, and their manor is filled with servants! How could this have happened? How could no-one have noticed?"

Tear blinks slowly. Not used to alcohol, it's gone to her head rather quickly, making her feel sleepy and slow. "I hadn't thought of that. I'd like to know, too. I met Luke's mother . . . she's so kind and caring. She falls ill at just the idea of Luke getting hurt. I can't see how . . . how Van could have . . . "

"I'm afraid you both have some rather inaccurate ideas of what a noble child's life is like," Natalia says, "And Luke's in particular. Duke Fabre is an important man with a great deal of territory to oversee, and as such he rarely spends time at home. As for Aunt Susanne, she's so frail she rarely leaves her bedroom. She certainly wasn't responsible for Luke's upbringing or supervision. That task was solely the business of servants - Guy's, in this case."

"Guy? Guy raised Luke? But he's only four years older! He'd have been- " Anise does the math "-only fourteen! How could _he_ have raised Luke?"

"He mostly didn't."

The girls twitch in surprise, Natalia and Anise twisting in their seats to look behind them.

Guy smiles at them sadly. "Ladies. Just thought I'd stop by to let you all know that we're payed up for another night at the inn. Noel's gone off to get the Albiore tuned up, and Jade's gone after Luke." He lets his gaze rest on Tear. He gives her an encouraging smile. "Tear, your brother was my friend for years. I'm not ashamed of the affection we shared. Just that I didn't notice how he'd changed."

She bows her head. "Thank you."

"If you didn't raise Luke, then who did, Guy?" Anise persists.

He raises an eyebrow. "No-one. I thought that was obvious."

"What?! But- all those people- the servants and the guards-" Anise says weakly.

"Sit with us, Guy," Natalia invites him. "Anise and I will move over to the other side of the table for you. I think it's time we cleared the air about Luke."

"Thanks, Natalia. Lemme just get a drink. After all this I could really use one."

Natalia and Anise drag their chairs around back and sit next to Tear. She smiles at them and leans into Natalia's warmth. The alcohol, the situation, the combination of both - it's worn away her usual cold front and left her craving contact, support.

Soon Guy is settled at the far end of the table with a whisky sour in a fat, heavy bottomed glass. He slips the cherry across to Anise with a smile when she pouts at him, then takes a slow, savouring drink. "Ah! I needed that. You wanted to know about Luke, right Anise?" At her nod he continues, "Noble children are raised by servants. Nannies, usually."

"Yes," Natalia chimes in. "I was raised by my own nanny until I was ten. Afterwards I was given over to tutors."

Guy nods. "And that's exactly what happened to Luke. Or should have, anyways. The whole kidnapping and memory loss business screwed everything up. Luke came back and he was like a baby. He couldn't even walk or talk." He stares down into his drink. "We know now it's because he's a replica and he actually was a baby, that he'd just been born. But at the time everyone thought he was the original Luke and he was really ten years old, so the Duke refused to let him keep his nanny. He figured Luke would just remember everything one day and be fine."

Natalia sighs. "It was quite the scandal in court. Can you imagine, the third in line for the throne suddenly being made an idiot? That's the original reason he was confined to the manor, you know. The need to protect him was secondary to the royal reputation."

"Yeah, all the servants gossiped about it. It was even worse because the whole incident hadn't been in the Score. I bet it took a lot for His Majesty Ingobert and the Duke to hush it up."

"There was a great deal of politicking involved," confirms Natalia. "I didn't hear much of it, though, since I was so young. I do know my engagement to Luke was almost cancelled, however."

"That must have been hard on the Duchess," Tear remarks. "She's so protective of Luke. She must have been very upset by how people were talking about him."

"Yes. Aunt Susanne spent months at a time in bed."

Tear shakes her head. "I had no idea Luke's amnesia had caused so many problems. I remember being so annoyed by how he didn't know anything, not even how to shop at a store. When he told me he'd had to relearn his parents faces I thought I'd heard the worst of of it."

"Oh, the politics weren't that bad," Guy says with a sad smile. "It's the tutors that were the issue. Asch was a smart kid when he was Luke: always reading, always asking questions, always serious about his responsibilities. To have him suddenly turn into someone who couldn't even talk was a big deal, especially since the Duke expected the tutors to fix the problem. I think a lot of them took it out on Luke." He drops his gaze back to his drink. ". . . I know I did."

"But you were just a kid," Anise protests.

"So was Luke," Guy counters. "And it's not like I didn't know what I was doing. I went into Duke Fabre's household to for the sole purpose of getting revenge. I wanted to hurt him, his wife, his son. I hated them all. So yeah, I neglected Luke. Sometimes I left him alone when I shouldn't have. I didn't always watch him properly, and I certainly didn't try too hard to help him learn in those first few years. It was only after, when I started to see him as just a kid and not my enemy that I bothered to help him, and by then. . . . " He shrugs.

Natalia reaches out to him in sympathy before she can stop herself. He jerks back, reflex, and she winces apologetically. "Sorry, I forgot. But you can't take all the blame, Guy. I wasn't exactly helpful either, and his father . . . really, Luke's upbringing was a mess, if you think about it."

"And Van took advantage of it," Tear finishes for her.

"Yes," Natalia says simply. 

~

It takes a lot of searching for Jade to find Luke. Certainly he'd never have managed it without Mieu.

"I can sense him," says Mieu excitedly. "I think- there he is! Up there!"

And sure enough, there's Luke perched on the flat roof for one of the taller buildings, his legs dangling over the edge, his face turned toward the vastness of the open desert.

"Now how did he manage to get up there?" Jade asks. "Ah, I see."

A ladder, half hidden in the shadows draped around the corner of the building leads all the way up. Jade grimaces, but heads over to it anyways and starts climbing, Mieu clinging to Jade's uniform tunic, ears all a-quiver with anxious energy. By the time they get to the top Mieu is fairly bouncing, and as soon as he's got the chance he flutter up and over the edge of the roof, then bounces over to Luke.

"Master! I was so worried about you!"

"Huh? Oh. Hi, Mieu. You came here alone?"

"Nope! Jade brought me. He's slow on the ladder."

Jade sighs and clambers over the edge. "Alas. An old man such as myself simply can't keep up with you, Mieu." He brushes his hair from his face. Takes a moment to study Luke. He doesn't like what he sees.

Slumped shoulders and a sullen look to those green eyes, the mouth is set in a hard, flat line. It's obvious he isn't happy to see Jade, even without his, "Oh, it's you."

"My my, it would appear I'm not very welcome," says Jade even as he comes to stand beside Luke. He looks out across the desert, the endless hills of pale sand and the unforgiving, unrelenting blue of the desert sky that somehow feels just as barren as the land below it. Why has Luke chosen this place, this view?

Luke cradles Mieu close, strokes the cheagle's ears, turns back to scowling at the desert. "Tch. Like you care. You'll come and bother me anyways."

"True."

They stand silent together for a long moment, the sounds of the city market drifting up to them along with the quiet conversation of bored sentry guards, the scent of cooking food and animal dung, the hot wind blowing off the sands.

". . . say, Jade. If I were a real human, would I have known about how to make babies? Can- can I even do that? Make babies, I mean? I'm a replica, right, so I'm not made of the same elements everyone else is. Would that matter?"

"I don't know," Jade answers, slow and careful with his words. "I never really thought about it. The truth is that I never really thought about a great many things." He looks sidelong at Luke. "For example, I never questioned why you were so devoted to Van. On reflection it seems so obvious - he was clearly more than merely a beloved teacher. Still, I never would have thought it was something like this."

Luke's mouth twists into an ugly knot. "Because it's gross, right? Disgusting. That's what Guy said."

"Guy has an unfortunate tendency of losing his perspective when you're concerned."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Only that he often reacts before thinking when your safety is at stake."

Luke shakes his head slowly. "That doesn't make any sense."

Mieu tugs on Luke's jacket to get his attention. "But it's true, Master! Guy said that Van had hurt you, only you didn't realize you'd been hurt. That's why he was so upset."

"Hurt me?" Luke laughs, a soft, bitter sound. "Master Van was the only one who took care of me. He was the only one who praised me or scolded me or tried to make me better. He never hurt me. Never. Not until. . . ." Luke falls silent.

"Until he revealed that he thought of you as nothing more than a tool," Jade finishes for him.

". . . yeah."

They let the sounds of Chesedonia fill the space between them as they fall silent again.

Finally, Jade sighs heavily. "I don't think there's any really graceful way of saying this. Luke, what you and Van were doing was having sex, something that's definitely not acceptable with children for exactly this reason: a child isn't old enough to understand the impact and repercussion having sex often has."

"But that's wrong! I knew what I was doing! I wanted to do it! I- I enjoyed doing it-"

"Luke. I know this is difficult. But the truth is he was merely was taking advantage of you. You were a child and there was no possible way you could understand what he was doing."

" _No!_ "

It's that same dangerous tone that Luke had used back at the inn, and Jade prudently steps away as Luke whirls on him, green eyes sparking with rage.

"You- calling me a child. How dare you. How _dare_ you? Acting like rules for humans work on me. You're nothing but a hypocrite!"

"Master! You mustn't get angry!"

That gets Mieu tossed aside to the roof with an angry, "Shut up." Luke glares poison at Jade. "I'm tired of you guys yanking me around. You keep telling me that I need to take responsibility for my actions and that I should have known better to follow blindly what Master Van told me to do, and then you turn around and tell me I'm a child and I can't make my own decisions? What kind of bullshit is that?!"

"Luke-"

"You act like you're so smart, like you know everything," Luke rages. "You made fomicry and. . . and _things_ like me. So maybe you can tell me, Jade: am I an adult or am I child? Should I have known better or not? Is-" Luke's voice breaks, "-is everything my fault or not?"

Jade bows his head and answers, "I'm sorry, Luke, I don't know."

Luke laughs bitterly. "So I'm just whatever's most convenient? An adult when you need someone to blame, a child when you want to ruin my life and take away anything good in it? Because it was good, you know. It felt really good, and I was good at it. Master Van said so."

"I believe Van said many things to you, Luke. He was a manipulator and a user."

"So you think it was a lie?" Luke challenges. "You think that he didn't enjoy it at all? That he found it as gross as Guy does?"

Too late Jade sees the dangerous ground he's ventured onto. "Luke, I didn't mean to imply that what passed between you was disgusting. Merely that is wasn't sincere on his part."

"Because I'm a replica, right? Because I wasn't good enough for him. Just a cheap copy." More of that hollow laughter, and Jade is starting to get worried now. "But you weren't there. You didn't see his face or hear his voice. I _know_ he enjoyed it," Luke says as he advances on Jade, "And no matter what kind of reject I might be, no matter how much dumber and weaker and second best I might be compared to Asch, I know-" His hand fists in Jade's tunic and yanks him close. "-I'm good at it." And he leans up and seals their mouths together in a hard, demanding kiss.

He's right. He is good at it.

Within moments he's got Jade's mouth open, his tongue slipping inside in a long, slow caress against Jade's, a warm wetness that at once delights and violates, and Jade is too shocked to stop it, make a feeble attempt to push Luke away but finds his wrists trapped in Luke's strong fingers.

It's easy to forget what with how Luke's gotten big-eyed and sad, with the label of child hovering over him and shadowing his soul, but Luke has the body of a seventeen year old and the raw strength of a hardened sword fighter. He's two hundred odd pounds of whipcord muscle and solid bone, and he makes brutally efficient use of it as he bares down on Jade, yanking him close, forcing him to bend to Luke's height so Luke can tongue-fuck him with lurid strokes, in and out and in and out, an obvious reference.

When he pulls away from Jade it's only to lift a brow and lick his lips in mockery.

"Luke, don't-!" Jade tries desperately, but Luke just leans in an nips Jade's lower lip, a wicked little punishment. It's also an ideal distraction from Luke hooking a foot behind Jade's ankle, so that when he gives Jade a hard shove it's so unexpected Jade just topples right over backwards, landing hard on the rooftop and bruising his hip. "Luke!"

Mocking laughter. "You said I'm just a kid, right? That I don't know what I'm doing? So then who's fault is this, Jade?" He crawls over Jade's body, pinning Jade's wrists above his head with one hand, the other groping messily through uniform slacks to cup Jade's dick and give it a good rub. "If I touch you like this is it my fault or yours?"

Never mind the question of blame, of Luke understanding the ramifications of what he's doing - he certainly knows what he's doing when it comes to the mechanics of sex, at least. He's wiggled himself onto Jade's hips and rocks into them purposefully, sweet friction that Jade's body responds to despite his will, and it's making arguing against this a race against Jade's own carnal reflexes.

"Luke!" Jade tries again, jerking against Luke's grip on his wrists, body twisting and heels scrapping against the rooftop to try and get some leverage against his captor. "You have to stop this!"

Luke just shakes his head. "Why? Why fight me? This feels good and I'm good at it and your body likes it. Or do you find this disgusting, like Guy did? Do you think I'm gross? Would you rather do this with a real human instead?"

"That has nothing to do with it," says Jade in a voice too rough and raw for dignity. "I simply don't- don't want-"

"You're lying! How can you say you don't want it when your dick is hard like this?" Luke demands, running his thumb in a hard line against the tent Jade's straining penis is making of his pants. The direct touch is just a shade too hard, intense little almost-pain that makes Jade bite back a groan and thrust his hips up, a sharp jerk that does more to undermine Jade's arguments than the flush on his cheeks, the words that die on his lips as he gasps for breath.

Luke's face twists with anguished confusion. "Do you hate me? Is that why you don't want to do this? Or-" hope on his face "-are you just testing me? Master Van did that, sometimes, to see how well I learned."

Never has Jade wished more for the ability to drag a soul screaming back from hell to kill them again. He can only imagine what sort of tests Van put Luke through to create this monster, and he searches his mind desperately for something, anything that will get Luke to stop before things go too far. "This is not a test, Luke. This is me telling you that I don't wish to do this. You're acting like a child by simply taking what you want. I thought you'd learned better than this!"

The words have more impact than Jade ever imagined, Luke jerking back as if burned, turning his face away and biting his lip. ". . . so I'm a kid then? Or is it that I'm supposed to ask?"

Jade doesn't waste time in shoving himself upright and then clambering to his knees as he says, "You're _especially_ supposed to ask about this sort of thing, Luke." He regains his feet and feels immediately more secure.

This is perhaps a mistake.

Luke remains kneeling on the rooftop, head bowed. "I know how to ask," he says in a low voice, and when he looks up his eyes are filled with new purpose. "Master Van taught me that, too."

Six words have never been so horrifying.

All of Jade's quick thinking deserts him - all he can do is watch in fascinated dread as Luke crawls toward him, rises up on his knees to press himself close against Jade's legs and stare up at him with green, green eyes that have gone heavy-lidded and dark. "Please?" Luke whispers. He rubs his cheek against the tented front of Jade's slacks. "Please, Jade?" Then he simply opens his mouth in wordless entreaty, and his lips have never looked so pink and wet and soft, and the sight of them so close to Jade's cock is a tantalizing sort of blasphemy.

Jade takes a single staggering step backwards but this is a mistake as well, giving Luke the space he needs to start unbuttoning his jacket, shucking it from his shoulders and tossing it carelessly away. Those strong hands then splay themselves on Luke's belly, framing rippling muscle and the sweet dip of his navel, and the faint scarlet trail just visible that points the way down to Luke's crotch.

His cock is hard, its proud jut visible despite Luke's baggy pants, and Jade is horrified by that as well. Is this more of Van's training or just Luke's reaction to be told to beg? And how is Jade ever going to untangle himself from this situation without harm to himself or to Luke?

He's still desperately searching for a solution when Luke twines his arms around Jade's waist and nuzzles Jade's hip like a cat. "Please, Jade," Luke begs again. "Please. I want it. I want your cock."

"No you don't . . ." Jade protests, and is that his voice? Weak and too soft for any kind of attempt at authority.

Luke smiles up at him, one of those rare, perfect smiles of his where his face lights up and the ruins of the sweet, happy child he could have been shines through and is this what Van looked down at every time he 'tutored' Luke? Is this what he defiled, fully knowing what he was doing?

"Yes I do," Luke says. "You can tell, right? My cock is just as hard as yours. Please, Jade!" He plants a sweet kiss on Jade's tented pants. "Please," kiss, "please," kiss, "please," kiss.

And somehow when Jade grits his teeth and tangles in fingers in Luke's hair it goes from pushing him away to pulling him closer, or maybe that's just Luke using his arms, hugging Jade close for a moment before going at Jade's belt buckle with fast and clever hands, then at the snaps of Jade's slacks, and it seems a bare instant before he's got Jade's cock in his hands.

The soft, pleased crooning sound Luke makes goes right down Jade's body in a delicious shiver, and a single bead of sweat traces a freezing line down Jade's throat, cold contrast to his hot, hot skin. The desert sun beats down on him but somehow feels chill compared to the flame of Luke's touch, to the one burning in Jade's own core.

If Luke had taken Jade into his mouth it would have been one thing. But instead that's just an idea, an image that hovers in Jade's brain as a searing possibility as Luke does nothing more than pet him with callused hands and nuzzle Jade's erection. He lets it slide across the soft curve of his cheek, along the side of his nose, trails his lips along the underside as he cradles Jade's balls in his warm palms and whispers, "Please, please, please," over and over like some kind of spell.

"Luke!" gasps Jade. "Luke, no-!"

Soft kisses and a feathery touch, and Luke slips a hand down between his own legs to stroke himself inside his pants, groans in need, face going flushed and lovely, eyes going impossibly dark green like forest shadows.

And Luke pulls back and he's got Jade's cock in his hand and he says "C'mon, Jade. All over my face. I want it! I want it, I want it-!" he brings his hand up from his cock and he's got pre-come on his fingers, paints it across his lower lip with a knowing look up at Jade.

And when he opens that pretty, pink mouth and aims Jade's dick straight at his face there's no force living that could stop Jade as he comes in a shuddering, clenching mess, his come splattering across Luke's face and into his mouth and over his hair, on his eyelashes.

It's obscene. It's disgusting. Even as the sweet force of climax ebbs from Jade's body he feels the nausea settling in.

Luke just grins cocky-proud up at Jade. "See? Told'ja I was good at it."

Jade swallows back bile. ". . . yes, Luke. You certainly are."

He collapses then, legs folding under himself, hands clutching at Luke for balance, and Luke moves obligingly close to cradle him and keep him from hitting the rooftop too hard.

He's wiping Jade's semen from his face with his fingers. He's licking them clean.

"Is there nothing Van didn't teach you?" Jade asks, then adds bitterly: "Oh, wait. He didn't teach you about 'no', did he?" He sighs and pulls his glasses off, rubs his eyes. He's so tired suddenly. He feels so old. "I wonder if you're my penance for having created fomicry. It seems I created a bigger mess than I ever dreamed." He slips his glasses back on.

Luke looks hesitant again. "Jade?"

"Never mind. Come here." He holds out his hands to Luke.

It's strange -sick?- how the boy will gleefully go after Jade's cock, but is wary to accept something as innocent as an embrace. Still, he finally crawls over to Jade and lets himself be pulled close in Jade's lap. He positively purrs when Jade begins to stroke Luke's hair, cuddling into the older man and pressing a happy kiss to the nook below Jade's ear.

"I'll have to see if Peony knows what to do with you," Jade murmurs as he pets Luke. "Until then, however. . . Luke, promise me you won't do this with anyone else."

Luke snorts. "'s not like I can. Everyone else thinks I'm really disgusting now."

"Luke. . ."

"Tch. Fine. But. . . " he's silent a long while, toying idly with the buttons on Jade's coat. "I was good, right? You said so."

"Yes."

". . . d'you think Asch is better at it? Do you think Van did it with Asch, too, and he liked it better?" Luke asks in a rush. "I just- I-"

Jade doesn't answer that. He just pulls Luke closer and says, "Luke. Enough."

Luke goes quiet and still, and lets Jade soothe him into slumber there on the rooftop.

~

"So much for our moral superiority," says Guy as he climbs up onto the roof. "I really should kill you for this."

"You're welcome to do it," Jade says. He's still got Luke cradled in his lap, but he's at least managed to get his cock back into his pants and his belt buckled again. The vague pretense of normality.

Guy just shakes his head. He looks as tired as Jade feels. "I'd have to fall on my own sword right afterwards. Mieu came and got me - he'd gotten scared by Luke 'attacking' you, so I left him with Tear and the others at the bar and came after you. I arrived when Luke was pulling your dick out of your pants. I just- I couldn't believe it. I couldn't move." He clenches his fists. "I wish I could offer a better excuse, but all I could do when I saw him like that was think about Van, about what he'd done to Luke and taught him. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. It just didn't seem _real_."

"Don't be too hard on yourself. I certainly don't blame you - I wasn't much better, after all." Jade sighs and shifts Luke's weight in his arms. "It seems we underestimated both Luke and Van. This situation is infinitely more complicated than any of us could have imagined."

"No kidding." Guy comes and squats down beside Jade. He strokes the back of his hand across Luke's cheek. "What the hell are we gonna do with you, Luke?"

"I was thinking we could bring him to Peony. It's not ideal, especially when we have many things we need to look into . . . I'm especially worried about how the God Generals are on the move once more. But I'm equally unhappy about the idea of bringing Luke with us into battle when he's so unstable."

"So you'll just abandon him like Van has? That's what he'll think if you dump him on Peony and leave, you know."

". . . and you think him staying with me is a better solution?"

"I think. . ." Guy says slowly, "that there isn't gonna be any easy answers to this, and that looking for one is a disservice to both ourselves, and to Luke. Even worse, I get the feeling that if we try and ignore this he'll just go looking for someone who won't. There's a lot of ugly people in the world who'd be thrilled to take advantage of someone like Luke. A lot of people like Van."

Jade's arms tighten reflexively around Luke. "No. That won't be allowed to happen," he says, and his voice is flat and final.

They stare in grim silence at Luke's sleeping form as the sun batters them from above and the sounds of the city swirl up to them from below. In a little while they'll have to wake him and take him down off the roof and try, in fits and starts, to put things back into a fakery of normal. For now, though, they just watch him sleep peacefully in Jade's arms. Quiet and still. Trusting as a child.

\- end


End file.
